Wednesday, October 14, 2015

I'm thrilled to present to you, DISQUIETED SOULS, Black Hills Wolves Book #29! What better timing than just before Halloween? If you love wolves, shifters, and hot romance, you've found the book! Pre-order and have Greyson in your hot hands on Friday morning!

Willow Bissett, a fashion photographer, has had enough
of the career that’s blackened her soul, and wants out. Her passion lies in
taking pictures of nature, and she’s determined to make a living from doing it.
When she stumbles upon a gruesome scene in the Black Hills Forest, her life is
forever changed.

Greyson shouldn't be alive. As the runt of the litter, his mother left him to
die in the wilderness. Picked up by Drew, son of the Alpha, he is adopted into
the Tao Pack. Rather than living a charmed life, he lives his days alone,
tormented by his abandonment and his unique appearance. His soul yearns for
acceptance, peace, and closure.

Willow could be the answer to Greyson’s prayers, or the very death of him.

EXCERPT:

“Are you
a fugitive from the law?”

He bared
a perfect set of pearly white teeth any mother would be proud of and chuckled.
“No. And I’ve never been arrested, either. You can relax.”

“So,”
she pressed on, breathing easier once again, “you have a thing against the
medical profession?”

He
turned his face toward her, and she could now confirm his eyes, one rich amber
with golden flecks, the other the deepest blue, were as beguiling as she’d
figured. “You could say I’m a fast healer. I’ll be fine in a couple of
days…Willow.”

When he
spoke her name, it was as though he’d spread a coat of silky chocolate over her
entire body and licked every ounce of it off with his tongue. Her palms
tingled, her face flushed, and she shifted in her seat to ease the growing ache
down low.

“Fast is
one thing, but you’d need to be supernatural to bounce back from these wounds
in a couple of days. Insert foot in mouth, Will.” She groaned and dropped her
head into her hands.

“What do
you mean?” His voice returned to a shaky whisper, but she heard him just fine.

She
shrugged off her embarrassment and peered up at him. Enough dancing around the
issue. She needed answers now that he was conscious and looking all delicious
despite his injuries. So, she ignored his question and asked the first of many
of her own. “Who are you?”

“My name
is Greyson. Thanks for fixing me up. I’m sure you did an awesome job.”

“You’re
welcome. I’m no doctor, but I make a damn good triage nurse in the wilderness
when I need to. Back to you, Greyson. What
the hell are you? And what actually happened out there? I can only guess, but I
want the whole story. From the beginning. I don’t think it’s too much to
ask…considering.”

Sunday, September 13, 2015

I've finally joined the ranks of those with chronic illnesses. It's not a grand achievement, I assure you. My chronic illness has barreled into my life and disturbed the foundation of who I am all the way down to the cellular level. At its least invasive, it's upset plans. At its most evil, its ripped apart my life to the point where I don't know from one moment to the next what's going to happen or how I'm going to feel.

What does this have to do with writing romance? EVERYTHING.

For the past six months, since my diagnoses, other issues have tagged along for the ride. What's a great way to kill creativity and romantic thoughts? What's the best way to derail a writing career?

ILLNESS. DEPRESSION.

I've had rallying moments since my life turned upside down, but creativity is whimsical, fickle, and best suited for the healthy me. The sick me thrives on coloring, watching foreign movies, being silent, curling up in bed. The sick me doesn't allow romantic ruminations or creative fantasies, nor joy for extended periods of time, just short bursts. The healthy me thrives on optimism and happiness, idealism, fantasy, and romance.

What used to be a flow of words nearly too fast for my fingers to type has become arduous and painful most of the time. My joy and passion for writing ebbs and flows with the level of sickness I experience from day to day. The situation is untenable. I must find a way to create beauty and story despite illness. I'm still learning how to deal with my new health status, so any advice you may have is welcomed.

For now, I'm blessed to have 2 Paranormal Romances releasing: Burning Sage, September 24th, and Disquieted Souls, October 16th. Here are their beautiful covers...

Sunday, June 14, 2015

When I begin my journey into a new story, I find I like to begin with the setting. The WHERE to set the romance can be a hard decision to make. We have to decide if we're going someplace local or far away. A place we've actually been to or a place we'd love to visit. A destination that's ordinary or exotic. Even real versus imagined!I began setting my stories in places I knew or had been to personally. I live in Arizona, and have been to Sedona and can see the Superstition mountains no matter where I'm at. I've even been to Las Vegas, where one of the stories ventures. All PERFECT settings for my paranormal series, The Brethren. Years ago, I visited an island in between the forks of Long Island, in New York, called Shelter Island. Great name and cool island to base my dark paranormal series, Book Waitress.Having been to places already affords us the luxury of being our own primary source of information. We know what the architecture is like. We remember how the air felt- humid or dry- and if our hair curled from the mugginess. We know when we can properly place a severe storm, be it snow or rain. And our knowledge goes on to feed our descriptions.If we set our romances on places we've never been, we need to be able to tap into someone's brain and cull as many sensory experiences as we can to bring this new setting to life for reader engagement and enjoyment. I typically use online research which entails looking at many photos, visiting sites like travel sites, and even contacting travel blog writers for their personal take on that particular setting. If at all possible, I reach out to folks on social media to see if anyone has been to where I'm setting a story. Sometimes, that works out nicely, as in Finding Lost, that's set in Isla Mujeres, an exotic locale, and Burning Sage, set in Santorini, another exotic destination.What if my setting is completely fictional? I will base the foundation of this fictional place on somewhere I do know. In a dystopian novel, I could base it on a city I've been to or lived in and totally imagine how it might look after a monstrous disaster of some kind. We've all seen dilapidated buildings at one point and streets that have fallen into disrepair. If not, hello internet! If I were to write science fiction, however, I can pretty much nix that idea because I'm no astronaut, nor can anyone live on any planets in our solar system yet. So, that requires... research again, and a great imagination for what you want to see in a space setting.So what's my favorite setting to use? The one that suits my story line the best!Happy reading and writing!Deena Remielwww.deenaremiel.com

Monday, April 13, 2015

For me, summer vacation is quickly approaching, and I'm thrilled! I teach middle school kids during the day, so I'm plum tuckered out by year's end. Summer is a time when I pile on the writing AND the reading. I've begun my reading list and can't wait to dive in. Since I write paranormal and suspense, you can imagine my list is going to be chock full of yummy supernatural creatures and psychopaths. But I also LOVE historical romance, so I'll also be digging into my favorite genre- highlander novels! After reading mine, why not tell us YOUR list? Okay, so these days there are thousands in your TBR pile.